Zareinu 2014 – Sasha Gollish and Ayal Rahat

This year Maccabi Canada is partnering with Zareinu again, and will be proudly represented at the 17th Annual Zareinu Moveathon by two of The 19th Maccabiah most
decorated athletes! Sasha Gollish and Ayal Rahat will be helping to coach and encourage the wonderful Zareinu riders to achieve their goals. Learn more about Sasha and Ayal below:

Sasha Gollish was the most decorated open athlete at the 2013 Maccabi Games. Sasha competed in the Maccabi Man/Woman Competition, a 4 event combination of running, cycling and swimming. Sasha was the gold medalist in the half marathon, a silver medalist in the individual time trial and triathlon and completed the marathon swim. Her accomplishments in these four events crowned her Maccabi Woman Champion. Sasha also competed in the 2013 World Duathlon Championships where she finished 3rd and the National Individual Time Trial Championships where she was also third. Another highlight in her 2013 season was winning the Sporting Life 10k, where more than 27,000 runners competed. Click here to learn more about Sasha!

Ayal Rahat was born in the Golan Heights of Israel to a Canadian mother and Israeli father. Growing up Ayal’s father lead bike tours in Israel and that’s where Ayal’s passion for the sport began. He went on to become a several time Israeli National mountain bike and time trial champion. In 2009, Maccabi first included bicycle racing into it’s competition and Ayal jumped at the chance to compete for the Israeli team. That year he finished 3rd place in the time trial event and 2nd place in the road race. In 2013, however, Ayal decided to honor his mother’s birthplace and his new home of Canada by competing for the Maccabi Canada team. He finished top-five in both the road and time trial events contributing to a third place overall team placing. Today, Ayal is the Lead Mechanic at The KindHuman Pro Shop in Toronto, Ontario. He is known as the Golan Man with the Golden Hands due to his talents as a bicycle mechanic. He plans to continue racing in the Maccabi Games in the future, aiming for that top step on the podium in 2017. Click here to learn more about Ayal!

Come meet Sasha and Ayal and ride with them on one of the 3 scenic routes in York Region and the Oak Ridges Moraine. Try the NEW beginner’s route with the 25 km Ride, or challenge yourself with the 50 km or 100 km routes! To Join the Maccabi Riders, please contact Gavin at gavin@kindhuman.cc

Creating strong partnerships in the local community with other leading organizations has been on Maccabi Canada’s agenda for the past few years, as can be seen in the successful Maccabi Canada Sports Day program where Maccabi has partnered with the Jewish Day Schools, touching kids across Canada.

Another meaningful relationship we formed is Maccabi’s participation in the Zareinu moveathon. Last Sunday, for the second year, the Maccabi riders joined the Zareinu ride and participated in the 100, 50 or 25K rides, riding alongside hundreds of riders who fundraised in support of children with special needs.

Through sports, and in this particular case through cycling, Zareinu has created a special program to help children overcome their challenges. Some of these children, riding their little bikes, were present at the event and participated in the family ride. Sasha Gollish, a 19th Maccabiah Gold Medal triathlete was there to send them off and to inspire them.

Maccabi’s goal was to help bring awareness to the ride and to encourage riders to join and support the cause by allowing them the opportunity to ride with leading Jewish riders such as Sasha and other Maccabiah cyclists. Ayal Rahat, an Israeli-Canadian who is a nationally ranked cyclist in Israel and represented Canada at the 19th Maccabiah, participated in the 100K route. Ayal who lives in Toronto was given the honour of presenting the Zareinu students with achievements medals at a very special and a very emotional award ceremony.

Representing the Maccabi Canada head office was Tali Dubrovsky, our National Executive Director who participated in the ride. At Maccabi Canada we are very proud and feel very fortunate to be a part of a united Jewish community. We thank Gavin Brauer from KindHuman for leading and coordinating the Maccabi Riders, and we are looking forward to riding for Zareinu again next spring.